sunset pictures... is it possible?

[alex3410]

fletch, wow amazing photo

here's my example of a sun set


its a HDR from 3 shots taken on a tripod

[Carl911]

Originally Posted by fletch

Did you use a tripod? At 1/20 and 210mm this is probably camera shake rather than out of focus.

Hi fletch,
Yes I did use a tripod although when I have the head part raised I find it has a lot of flex and it attends to move for a while after hitting the shutter button. I use the 10 second timer to allow for time to stop shaking but I fear this is not always enough.
Maybe I need to invest in a sturdier tripod. Any suggestions.
Also, what do you focus on in a picture like the one I took. would you have used the pilon to focus point as I did or somewhere else?
Cheers Carl

[fletch]

I would focus at the hyperfocal distance, failing that try 1/3 of the way into the frame.

Try http://www.dofmaster.com for info about hyperfocal distance.

[navcom]

Remember that your aperture will also affect your focus as it will affect your depth of field. The smaller the aperture (larger the number), the greater the depth of field. If you use a wide aperture, less of your picture will be in focus as it moves away from the point you chose to focus on. Of course at the smaller end (above about f/13 or so), you will start to experience a loss of sharpness due to diffraction, which will get worse as the aperture gets smaller. The point at which this loss of quality begins as well as how bad it will get depends on your lens. Every lens is a bit different.

It's all a matter of the choice you must make for each individual photograph.

[Carl911]

Originally Posted by fletch

I would focus at the hyperfocal distance, failing that try 1/3 of the way into the frame.

Try http://www.dofmaster.com for info about hyperfocal distance.

Ok, my brain has fried. I'm obviously looking at this table in the wrong way.
Can you run me through what goes where.
If i take for example my Canon 85mm-f/1.8 Prime lense which I like for landscape(not sure if it is the best of my lenses) what do I enter in the various boxes:-
Short lens length-85mm?
Long lense length-85mm?
Distance units-Feet
Minimum Distance-What does this mean-what do I enter here?
Maximum distance-As above?
Minimum F-number-(my prime is f/1.8
Maximum F number-(My Prime is f/22
Circle of Confusion-0.019 for my Canon 40D

Its the Distance setting I dont understand, I assume the other data I have added are correct.
If I used the Dofmaster calculator it tells me that using my 85mm prime set at f/16 I have a near focus of 13.4ft, a far focus of 20.2ft and a Hyperfocal distance of 78.3ft. Does this sound right and would I be theoretically trying to focus 78.3ft away?
Can you clarify for me.
I want to work out my Hyperfocal distance but still am not sure what Im looking at.
If I can get my head around this I think it will resolve my blurry landscapes I keep getting.

cheers in advance, sorry to ask so many questions.

[fletch]

You have it right. If you focus at 78.3ft everything from 39.2ft to infinty will be in focus.

[Mikezors87]

Yes its possible, I took this shot down at "Big Rock" at Oswego. We have according to polls, one of the best sunsets in North America. And we are in good ranking with the world.
Now, I'm just getting into Photography, but I love this shot.
Here's the EXIF Data:
File Name IMG_0292.JPG
Camera Model Name Canon PowerShot A1000 IS
Shooting Date/Time 6/15/2009 8:30:13 PM
Shooting Mode Sunset
My Colors Mode Off
Tv (Shutter Speed) 1/200
Av (Aperture Value) 10.0
Light Metering Evaluative
Exposure Compensation 0
ISO Speed 80(Auto)
Lens 6.2 - 24.8 mm
Focal Length 11.4 mm
Digital Zoom None
IS Mode On
Image Size 3648x2736
Image Quality Superfine
Flash Off
White Balance Auto
AF Mode Single AF
Parameters:
Contrast: Normal
Sharpness: Normal
Saturation: Normal
Color Space sRGB
File Size 4207 KB
Drive Mode Single-frame shooting
Owner's Name Mike Gill

[sublimelight]

You can expand your definition of what it means to get a "good sunset shot."

The exposure of a typical sunset shot with a sky and foreground will exceed the dynamic range of a digital camera. Without using a ND Grad filter, you will have to keep everything in the viewfinder within 4-5 stops. Get creative. For example, you can put the sky in the foreground using reflected light—this will even out the contrast between the sky and foreground and help with exposure problems.

This shot was taken with Fuji Velvia film at extreme low tide, when the sand was saturated with water…


Ebb Tide Sunset, Siltcoos Beach, Oregon



You can also eliminate the sky altogether and capture the play of light from the golden rays of the sun. In this photo, the setting sun is highlighting the incoming waves as well as the seawater draining off the lave slope.


Yachats Surf, Yachats, Oregon

[Sally9258]

No filters, other than a uv filter on the lens of these. All I did was some cropping and straightening on these and on the sunrise there was a sun flare I removed.

This was done hand held with my dSLR and a 35-105 lens

And this one was a sunrise. Handheld again with my 18-70 lens

And this one last night at the Relay for Life. And that's a kite not alien life forms dropping in for a visit. Again handheld with a 70-300mm lens.


Granted I'm blessed living on a lake. In the am I just point east and in the pm I just point west.

[cappy1927]

You definitely can take some fantastic pictures without a filter. I meter on the empty sky away from the sun and lock the exposure. I then recompose my shot of the setting sun and fire away. When composing do not stare at the sun too long! Beware of your eyes.